A review by sfletcher26
Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
5.0
Simply brilliant, one of the best collections of short stories I've ever read.
Akutagawa is one of Japan's great writers. sadly though he is less well known in the western world. This collection of his short stories (translated by Jay Ruben) is a great introduction to his work. From his more well known stories, In a Bamboo Grove and Rashōmon to the less well known Hell Screen these stories fascinate and horrify. It is the newly translated Spining Gears though that is the standout though describing as it does the how it's lead character (a thinly veiled Akutagawa) lived with and was controlled by his mental illness.
Akutagawa is one of Japan's great writers. sadly though he is less well known in the western world. This collection of his short stories (translated by Jay Ruben) is a great introduction to his work. From his more well known stories, In a Bamboo Grove and Rashōmon to the less well known Hell Screen these stories fascinate and horrify. It is the newly translated Spining Gears though that is the standout though describing as it does the how it's lead character (a thinly veiled Akutagawa) lived with and was controlled by his mental illness.